06/04/2020
At EWB Cal Poly, we are outraged about the extrajudicial murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police department last week. We are outraged that the police system in the United States has continuously prioritized shielding police officers from prosecution and has allowed black lives to be marginalized and murdered for decades. We stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, with George Floyd, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Bettie Jones, and all other victims of police brutality whose names will never be known.
Across the US and locally in San Luis Obispo, protesters are advocating for justice and accountability from the police departments and other social institutions that have failed to protect them. What happened to George Floyd was not an anomaly, but rather the predictable outcome of a racist police force that has systematically treated Black Americans as an enemy. From slavery and the slave patrols to the modern police force, the Prison Industrial Complex that forces prisoners to perform menial labor for mere pennies, we can see that slavery in America never vanished but merely evolved. Black Americans are disproportionately stopped, arrested, jailed, and killed by our police, and evidence shows that the safest communities are not those with the heaviest police presence, but rather those with the most access to resources and support.
We, the EWB Cal Poly Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, support the protestors advocating for the abolition of the police system, who seek the end of a racist and failed system. Peaceful protestors have been met with brutal retribution by militarized police departments across the United States, and now riots rage across the country. These riots are the result of a community that has no other way to make its voice heard, and they are the response to a government that values property more than human lives.
As an organization focused on development, we work to recognize the inequities, power structures, and challenges inherent to our work. Our projects operate within the legacy of colonialism, and care must be taken to ensure we don’t perpetuate modern neocolonialism. We must recognize the privileges we have to be working on these projects, and the uneven power dynamics that exist within our community relations. The inequities and power structures we encounter in our work abroad are present within our nation as well, and we must recognize that fact, and use those same privileges and power we have abroad to affect change in the United States as well.
We as the DEI committee are still learning, collecting more resources every day, and critically assessing our own positionality. To our members, we ask that you reevaluate where you stand and why, find ways to support the protests, and donate to organizations advocating for justice. We ask you to parse through the resources below, to critically engage with the role that prisons and police play in our society, and to consider why so many Black activists agree that those institutions need to not be reformed but replaced entirely. We ask you to research candidates and vote in local, primary, and presidential elections. We ask you to come to our town-hall tonight, and help each other not only talk about, but take action in support of these movements. We recognize that everyone has a lot on their mind. The past few weeks have been overwhelming for many reasons, and it is all too easy to fall to despair and panic. But we encourage you to use what time and resources you can spare to make a difference, because as Desmond Tutu once said,“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Do what you are capable of doing, take care of yourself, and support those around you.
Resources: These are simply a starting point, and many of them contain links to further resources. Take a few minutes every day to engage in a new reading, and better yet, do so with a friend. https://bit.ly/2UaAOtu
With lots of love,
Michael Reyna (he/him/his) | [email protected]
Andrea Leal Ruiz (she/her/hers) | [email protected]
Ruchika Shukla (she/her/hers) | [email protected]
Olivia Weinbaum (she/her/hers) | [email protected]
Julia Cannon (she/her/hers) | [email protected]
Elise Gooding (she/her/hers)| [email protected]
Resources grown from a compilation by Dr. Ryall and the EWB Cal Poly Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Complete this form to add a resource! Educational Materials - The Systemic Issues with Police & Prisons, and a further history of civil rights advocacy: A Guide to Allyship June Jus...
